Season 1 may have not settled straightaway, taking about half the season for the writing and pacing to even out (whereas a lot of other aspects were fine from the start, so even with the faults it was still worth the watch). But when it got on track with "The French King" and it was an uphill hitting stride improvement from there, it is well worth sticking with and not to given up upon too soon.
The same applies for Season 2's opener "The Borgia Bull", in that re-watching 'The Borgias' has been one of the most seriously addictive and pleasurable binge-watches (or should that be re-watches) for any television series seen in a while. When one watches four episodes in one night, that is signs of something great. 'The Borgias' is not for everybody, especially for anybody wanting historical accuracy, but it is incredibly well made and splendidly melodramatic fun. "The Borgia Bull" is a great promising start for an on the whole much better and more settled second season.
None of the episodes of 'The Borgias' at this point of the show were exempt from flaws. Neither is "The Borgia Bull". Two performances didn't quite work for me. Found Augustus Prew annoying from the very start of the show, and he still irritates here due to going overboard on the camp. Jemima West is on the bland side in this episode, and her character is sketchy.
Also felt that the opening scene went on a little too long.
However, there is an awful lot to admire in "The Borgia Bull". While there is a good deal of the family life, albeit with more tension, elements, there is more emphasis on the politics which already makes the season intriguing. Already, Della Rovere is handled better here, one does hope when watching that his scheming isn't dragged out too long but he is not as problematically written than he was in Season 1. There are already signs of his character and subplot progressing, things that took about half a season in the previous season to do. The Naples parts are quite brutal and shows that there is more to Charles than the blustering personality seen in much of the previous season.
Character interaction is a strength here too. Such as the tension between Cesare and Juan, leading to a thrilling duel, the scheming of Giulia (Lotte Verbeek as charmingly ravishing as ever while also showing an icy calm) and the scene between Rodrigo and Vittoria is beautifully played. Will never stop saying how great the chemistry between Rodrigo and Giulia is. Every episode of 'The Borgias' has at least one great scene and "The Borgia Bull" has those, not just the duel and Rodrigo/Vittoria but even more so the extravagant in every meaning of the word masquerade, also beautifully choreographed, the scene between Rodrigo, Cesare and Juan, the thrilling horse race and Rodrigo and the ambassador.
Jeremy Irons excels in many kinds of emotion here, whether being genuinely frightening in his scolding of Cesare and Juan, sympathetic with Vittoria and my favourite some great comic timing in his scene with the ambassador with the presence of adorable baby Giovanni (some of the dialogue is priceless). Francois Arnaud, David Oakes and Verbeek fare the best of everybody else, and Holliday Grainger has definitely grown as Lucrezia. The story is in my view as one can gather compelling and the writing has come on leaps and bounds, more intrigue and less soap. Really loved the writing for the Rodrigo and ambassador scene.
Visually, 'The Borgias' continues to have very high production values with "The Borgia Bull", that was never a problem and continually one of the best of the good things about the show. The exquisitely designed and richly coloured costumes, especially Giulia's, and scenery and interiors are wow-worthy, and the beautiful photography rivals period dramas on film. The music still has the beauty and intensity that were present in the previous episodes. Meanwhile the opening titles sequences and main theme still give me the chills. one of my favourite opening titles sequences of all time (film and television). The main theme is incredible, the sheer intensity, grandeur and drama (already sending chills down the spine and induces goosebumps before the episode's even begun) makes it one of my favourite main themes for any show. Matched by splendidly and cleverly designed visuals.
In summary, great start for Season 2. 9/10
